outreach to homeless youth

Each year Starlight provides 5,000 meals, 8,000 articles of clothing, and 2,000 blankets to more than 700 adults and youth who are homeless.

Starlight Youth Outreach integrates arts activities, outreach and case management. We reach youth where they are on the streets while fostering independence and self-sufficiency. Formerly known as RYSE, Reaching Youth on the Streets, Starlight Youth Outreach is one of only two programs (and the only Christian program) with paid staff providing street outreach in Boston and Cambridge for youth and young adults who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Staff and volunteers spend time in the places where youth and young adults who are homeless or at risk of homelessness frequently gather, such as Harvard Square, Copley Square, Back Bay, and Downtown Crossing. Through the efforts of Starlight Youth Outreach, three young adult participants have entered three different housing programs after experiencing a period of homelessness.

SANCTUARY is our weekly indoor arts community that brings together youth, staff and volunteers for a family-style meal, arts workshops and contemplative group time. Sanctuary, launched in May 2007 at Christ the King Presbyterian Church in Cambridge, builds upon the past success of Starlight Youth Outreach by taking the relationships formed on the streets to a deeper level by providing an environment to nurture, to inspire and to continue to walk alongside the youth with whom we already are working. We allow youth to stay after we close (while staff and volunteers are cleaning up) to receive prayer. Our ultimate hope is that this community will be a bridge that leads many to Christ, and that those who enter its doors will dream big while gaining a deeper understanding on their full potential and the unique plan that God has for their life.